Posted by don crozier on September 29, 2009 at 11:00am
So that is what my wife and I said to each other when we walked through The Meadows, a one year old development in Lake St Louis, Missouri. The Meadows at Lake St Louis is a high end "lifestyle center" as they call it. True, it is a shopping mall, but "mall" really doesn't do the place justice. Located about 25 miles from the St Louis suburbs and about 50 miles from the city, Lake St Louis has been an upscale place to live since the 60's and it has held up well over the years. This year, it won an award from Money Magazine as number 9 in their Top 10 Best Places to Live. Easily the most affluent area in St Charles County, it is located at the center of the recent housing boom and the highest growth area in the St Louis region. In April 2007, construction began on The Meadows at Lake St Louis. The Meadows is owned and managed by Davis Street Land Company in Chicago who specialize in high end retail outlets. http://www.themeadowsatlsl.com/ The Meadows opened to much fanfare at just about the worst possible time, August 2008. While I'm sure they've been hurt by the recession, new stores continue to open at about one every other month or so and construction is proceeding on another anchor, Von Maur, set to open in 2010. Foot traffic is decent, but I suspect that most merchants besides the restaurants aren't making a whole lot of money just yet. As far as I can tell, the housing market in the county, while not great, has not tanked either. The architecture and design of the Meadows makes the venue so attractive. The stores are all laid out in four quadrants around a lushly landscaped central courtyard which was just begging for little white tents.
The space is very classy and elegant, but it is not huge, with room for only about 28 tents or so. With no other art fair within 20 miles, I knew that someone would have an art fair there someday and I wanted to be a part of it. I approached Bridget Geiss, the Marketing Director, in the Spring of this year with my idea for an art fair and she was very receptive. I emphasized that this would be a quality show, in keeping with the Meadows' target demographic. We both agreed that if the show was a success, there would be room to grow by utilizing some of the rest of the property. We settled on the last weekend in September as the date. This fell towards the end of the Autumn St Louis shows, with Queeny Park on Labor Day weekend, the St Louis Art Fair in Clayton on the 2nd weekend, and Mosaics in St Charles on the 3rd weekend. The Shaw Art Fair is the first weekend in October, and even it can be risky on the weather, so we sure didn't want to go any later. How did we do? Stay tuned! Don
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Posted by Bill Sargent on September 28, 2009 at 10:30pm
This was our first time at the Plaza show and we came with great expectations (a self inflicted condition). It went well enough for us and was by far our best show of the year to date.We had been apprehensive about parking and had been told not to move our vehicle for the weekend once we found a good spot. We found a fabulous spot completely by accident and followed the advice since our hotel was a fairly short walk away. No one we know of complained about parking, though. One other friend left his vehicle in place all weekend once he’d found a good parking spot.The setup went well and artists were assigned a time to roll in and dump their stuff within 45 minutes. This turns out to be plenty of time. Friday is a heavy day since you set up in the morning and the shows runs from 5 to 10 PM the fist day. Crowds are heavy Friday night and we actually sold more that evening than we have at many other shows for the entire weekend.Results were mixed for artists. The mixed media guy behind us did about 300 for the whole show. A photographer friend reported 9300, which was an all time high for him. Another photographer friend and veteran of the show sold 3K. Two years ago he had taken in 12K. Yet another photographer who habitually sells in the five figures at this show was down about a third this year. A painter who had sold 12K lat year was up to $750 by early Sunday morning.The level of work was about as good as it gets. The judges did a fine job in selecting the winnersCrowds were thinner this year, according to some of its members. We were near the food and beer in the row next to the river, so there were plenty of people and our booth was crowded for most of the show.As in Fort Worth, you don’t want to leave your chair unattended if it’s outside your tent. I found a drunk comfortably settled into mine just when I wanted it the most. I finally talked to him and he was nice, if a bit clumsy, when it came to moving. Too bad he spilled most of his beer on the cushion in the process. Fortunately it dried out before noon the next day after exposure to a bright sun and low humidity.Later the next evening I was ready to sit down again after hours on my feet and I looked up to see the very same drunk comfortably settled in my chair. Again. Not wanting to risk another Pabstism for my cushion, I left him alone until he finally wandered off.Teardown went smoothly in our area and we were out of there in a reasonable time.The next day we were looking for something to visit and stumbled on the museum that features the steamboat “Arabia” which was sunk in 1859. The artifacts that were recovered were in such good shape that they were able to put together an exhibit that is much like a large general store you would have walked into that year. Much of the cargo consisted of orders for various merchants and the artifacts are fascinating. Some of them were items the existence of which was unknown before the excavation. The museum is located in the City Market. Just punch City Market into your GPS and it will take you right there. There are also many interesting shops and a genuine Kansas City BBQ eatery.We will keep this show on our application list permanently. It would have been a profitable stand alone show but it was the first in a four-show out-of-state tour for us.OK, Nels, I have purposely dispersed seven grammar, punctuation and spelling errors in this post. I expect you to find them.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 28, 2009 at 4:26pm
Rick DeVos scion of the Amway family in Grand Rapids, MI, announced in April the
world's largest Art Prize - $250,000 and invited all artists to come to GR in September to compete. The winner will be selected by the public! This, of course, means
YOU have to get to Grand Rapids soon to cast your vote. ~~
25,000 Peace Flags (and counting) by Kiaralinda and Todd The hope is that the exhibition will involve the public and get them looking at art, so it's all good. It
will be interesting to see the winning work. The choices of art experts often has me scratching my head, so the public can't do much worse in choosing a winner. In all over 1600 artists heeded the call. All around Grand Rapids from
September 23 to October 10 you can view, hear and participate in their art throughout the city. ~~
Jerry Berta's Art Cart I was there for the excitement Saturday and Sunday. Who knew Grand Rapids was so diverse and beautiful? Sun glinting off the river (bridges turned into art, monsters in the water, sculpture on islands) and excited people everywhere trying to take in as much as possible.
~~
Madeline Kaczmarczyk's mixed media pottery The art is on the street, in empty storefronts, in every restaurant and in the galleries. Then when you get bleary-eyed there is exciting performance art. ~~Connie plays Michael Combs' guitar
I came across some art fair artists too: (former) photographer
Michael Combs 6 foot wide mosaic encrusted ceramic guitar,
Jerry Berta's diner art cart complete with hot dogs,
Madeline Kaczmarczyk's ceramics "Womanology" and
Todd and Kiaralinda Ramquist's interactive peace flags. The peace flags encircle the B.O.B., an outdoor plaza filled with provocative work. My friend Jan Richardson's daughter, Heather, was dancing with the Ramquist's in her "Peace Angel" costume, complete with flashing lights. Did I tell you this is fun? Really--be there or be square! I'm casting my vote now. Here's an excellent article I found:
Grand Rapids Masters the Art of Urban Engagement -- good photos too.
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Greetings all! I am back from another festival and pretty tired still. I did the Westminster Fall Festival this past weekend - don't have any photos of it as I left my camera at home this time. It was a pretty bad show and attribute most of it due to the rain. There was advertising and all that good stuff, but with the extra distractions (rides and commercial vendors having better visibility) it just wasn't anything to write home about. I knew all of this going into the event, and in the past the crowds have been big (anticipating a good buying crowd despite the distractions). Everyone seemed to suffer except some food vendors (and people who sold dips). But I chalk that all up to passing this event for another next year. The good news is it was close to home and with the rain pouring hard at the end of the day Saturday the management choose to close the event early - saved 1 1/2 hours of being miserable in the rain. What baffled me was a HUGE number of people who haven't done shows before exhibiting there and having no clue the responsibilities that go into owning a canopy. I don't need to get into it as I am sure many of you have mental pictures from your own experiences of what heavy rains and high winds can do to canopies, but it did occur at this festival and thankful none of those parties damaged my work. I am still so happy making the choice of going with my Trimline and even got a few other serious exhibitors interested in the design of it.My Food/Beverage Report... I didn't have anything of the alcoholic nature although was very much in the mood for it after being drenched from the rain while zipping up my sides . However, found a neat small authentic Mexican restaurant 1 block from where the event took place. There were about enough room for 10-12 tables and neat decor. I settled with a very good chimichanga - the service was really good. I was all set for a glass of Sangria but not on their menu. For the life of me, I can't recall the name of the restaurant. There aren't any sushi places in the area and only one pub, but since I didn't make any money at the event settling for Mexican one night and Sunday Panera Bread - which am now in love with their new chicken salad sandwich.I am really looking forward to my next show, The Darlington Apple Festival. Bring on the big crowds and good weather as I have consistently have growing sales each time I attend it. Will report on all my findings soon.
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Did a show two weeks ago in Columbus, OH and should have followed my "name"...Cassandra, which is supposed to be a 'seer of the future' in mythology. I kept having this nagging little voice in the back of my mind but I had made the committment to be there so I went. The "crowd" was very light on opening night and not much better on Saturday, despite the good advertising and planned events surrounding the show. Sunday we were rained out. But to make matters worse, on Saturday morning I had a $350. bracelet cuff stolen from me when I was sitting not more than 2' away from it! Sigh...... I love interacting with people at shows and it reallly irks me when I'm forced to be suspicious of anyone who comes close to the booth. Putting things in glass cases would probably eliminate theft but with beadwork, it's such a 'tactile' thing that people really need to be able to touch it and see it closely. As a visitor to show, I know that I am not inclined to ask someone to take a piece out for me.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 22, 2009 at 7:00pm
Many, many thanks to all of you. Today member #1500 joined our ranks. I hope you'll all welcome her,
Kim Hutt of Clarkston, MI. She is a show organizer and should have lots to share with all of us. I am so pleased at the site, your participation, your questions, your helpfulness to one another, your comments, all the interesting personalities emerging. Most interesting to me (who has been in the art fair business since l978) is most of you I don't even know and now I have a new community. Could that be why they call it social networking? Our members come from all 50 states also Canada, Spain, Denmark, Israel, Sudan, Ireland, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Poland, Uganda, Argentina, Wales, Tunisia and a gang from India and lots from the United Kingdom.
We could not have made it without you and your telling your friends about our site. Thank you. Big thanks go to all the "lurkers" (you know who you are) and the contributors. I'm going to try to name a few and you will let me know if I missed you...in which case add your comment below. Honor Roll:
Nels Johnson, Michelle Sholund, Linda Anderson, Paula Johnson, Geri Wegner, Don Crozier, Ron Mellott, Zaki Knapen, Mary Strope, Marcie Christiansen, William Eickhorst, Greg Heihn, Dawn Waters Baker, Genece Hamby, Barbara Sistak Baur, Carol Komassa, James Parker, Bert Herrera, R.C. Fulwiler, Mike D., Shoshana Matthews, Bill Sargent, Albert Ellenich, Christy La Roy, Dave Hoffman, Peter Katke, Lee Hill, Al Nash, Charles Bingham, Ramon Magee, Adela Romero, Mark Zurek, Sheryl Cannon, Howard Rose and Bob Stuart and so many more! My son made me build this site. He was interested in seeing how the Ning sites work for a book he was writing. Art Fair Insiders was his guinea pig. Don't you think we've got something here? What to look forward to: I have to organize the discussion groups, get some links together and plan some better interactive things. I'm going to add video soon, so be sure to have your videos ready to upload. It has been suggested that I have a forum so people can stay at each other's homes when they are traveling and at the shows, also for sharing hotel rooms at shows. Also, I've been asked to set up a singles meet up. Tell me what you'd like and what you think of the ideas above. Lots of love to all of you in Art Fair Land! (I'll be gone for a few days. I'm off to Peoria, IL, for the NAIA Artist/Show Director Conference where I'm going to do a presentation about social networking. Think I can handle it? Yes, I can--thanks to you!)
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What can I say it was a perfect weekend - perfect weather, perfect setting, perfect food, perfect selection of art and craft, and yes, perfect sales. Ok, maybe I didn't sell out, but there are some who did and I did sell a lot with a few items selling out - I find that close enough. So about the Wine Festival.... 1. It has been a Maryland tradition since 1983 where legend has it in the first year they outgrew their location - it was a hit. Now it is held at the Carroll County Farm Museum, think of it as a mini Williamsburg (smaller grounds with some people traditionally dressed up - for the tours). There are about 30 Maryland wineries that come out to be judged as the Best Wine in Maryland along with other titles and even awards for novice wine makers too. There is about 80 artists and crafts people ranging from stained glass - my neighbor, various degrees of jewelry makers, floral crafts, framed artwork of all kinds, to commercial stuff as well - even the Maryland lotto people have a booth. There are no games or things like that mind you. The admission price is hefty (in my opion) $20 for designated drivers and $25 for the rest and it includes all the wine you can taste. My only beef is that vendors were not allowed to taste, requiring them to pay the same admission fee - a big turn off since they are getting a deposit and commission on from all of us. So, I didn't drink, but do have my favorite! More of that in my "Wine" Report - sorry Nels, had to do a spin on the 'ol Tequila Report. 2. What made it good. It was well organized all around. Finding ones space wasn't hard although there were no definite rows. The time of the event is great - plenty of people up until the end - 6:00 p.m. Advertising was spot on - everyone came from everywhere in Maryland and they brought money (rumor has it they surpassed 25,000 in attendance). Oh yes, the weather was so perfect - 72-74 as a high with no clouds in the sky. The fee is beyond amazing - $25 + 15%. They do allow you to apply the $25 (subtracting it) to your overall sales. Many had a great show. I did very well with about 1/2 of my stock depleted - I was really prepared for it and selling 1/2 is unheard of in my part of the woods the way the economy is going. 3. What wasn't the best. I already mentioned there was a fee for those who who were exhibiting to wine taste - yeah, still heart broken over that. IT was really muddy, but they had a ton of straw and didn't waste time putting it down. Parking was a pain - it was organized, but my booth was in the far end direction of where the vendor gate was that I couldn't drive up - due to the mud there was only a path to get to your space wide enough for one car. Which means everyone parked on the path preventing others to get to their booth - people like me. On day 2, I ended up schlepping some of my stuff to my booth - about 1/8 mile! Yes, my back is still sore. I was put in a far off area that not everyone in attendance knew about - despite this my sales were really good so I can't imagine what it would be like if I had a more visible space. I also found most exhibitors weren't terribly friendly. I did the show by myself (husband helped for 4 hours on Saturday but that was it) and usually someone will be sympathetic and ask if I want a break to go to the bathroom - no one did, only wanted to know how my sales are - weird I thought. Oh, and they were quick to tell me how to do things, like I have never done shows before when by myself I can set up my display in 1 hour and 15 mins while it takes the others 2 people and 2 hours to set up, silly people. I can't really complain though it was a great weekend and a great venue. The Wine Report... I haven't been able to find info on who won the awards for 2009. However I do have a favorite winery - Linganore Winecellars. I actually love all of their wines as many are on the sweet side as I learned about them from working at the Maryland Renaissance Festival since 2001 - and I was only 14 then :-). But have to say the Fox Hunt Blush, Sangria, Peach, and Skipjack wines are my absolute favorites. Their winery is about 30 mins from where I live so I have the pleasure of checking them out at my leisure. I didn't get to go out to dinner - I do live close by so hubby made dinner for me and just had fast food the second night. I aim to do check out a pub this coming weekend when I am also in the same city doing a Fall Festival. Heard good reviews about it. All in all, I say come to this gem of an event it is wonderful. To learn more about the other wines or the festival, their website is www.marylandwinefestival.org .
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 21, 2009 at 6:19pm
Let's see now. If you put on a performance partially funded with money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in San Francisco that was named Perverts Put Out would you be surprised if some people were also put out?
Here's a good story from the Houston Chronicle that refutes the outrage: Arts fair becomes target of stimulus critics:
San Antonio festival’s funding called ‘grounds for impeachment’. It seems that stimulus funds were also used for an accordion festival. Do you like that better?
"Perhaps conservatives have something against accordions.
That's one possible interpretation of how the International Accordion Festival in San Antonio became one of this summer's national poster children for big government spending as the right wing came down on $29 million in economic stimulus funding handed out by the National Endowment for the Arts — including $775,000 that went directly to Texas arts groups," says the Chronicle.
I think I've heard this one before. I live near a beautiful state park in northern Indiana, Pokagon. Ever since I was a kid I have loved the stone buildings and pavilions in that park that are as graceful as they day they were built by -- you guessed it -- federal stimulus money called the WPA.
Read the article and tell me what you think. Do the arts deserve this money? Should festivals be receiving money that goes into artists hands?
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 21, 2009 at 6:04pm
An amazing digital artist (and I
really mean digital in that he uses the computer as his tool) used to
participate in the nation's art fairs. He took top prizes everywhere he went. About five years ago he dropped out to see if he could make it in another arena. It is no surprise to those of us who saw his work to read about his success. Read below and be inspired. From Kenneth Huff: Last week, during the 2009 Ars Electronica Festival in Austria, one of my time-based works was shown, accompanied by the Bruckner Orchester Linz. The concerto for piano, "Lousadzak (The Coming of Light)" by Alan Hovahness, was conducted by Dennis Russell Davis, with Maki Namekawa on piano. The piece was very well-received by the festival audience. There is a brief clip on my blog from the final rehearsal and a photo from the performance:
www.kennethahuffblog/comingofthelight I am looking forward to similar events in the future. ---------- * On-going exhibition of work at the Ars Electronica Center Also at the Ars Electronica Center, there is a three-year exhibition of a selection of my still images, Organik Constructions, that is showing in the center's Deep Space projection gallery. An installation photo and links to the exhibition pages can be found here:
www.kennethahuff.com/blog/ars-electronicafestival.com The exhibition opened 2 January. I was visiting the Center as it was being built in December and was thrilled to experience my work as the very first images shown in the space, the day the projectors were turned on for the first time.
www.kennethahuff.com/blog/2009/01/03/ars-electronica-center ---------- * Blog I have a blog where I am posting current events and news. Occasionally, I also post reference photography, the occasional technical detail and soon, stereoscopic images of my travels. You can find the blog here:
www.kennethahuff.com/blogRead more…
Posted by Susan Lukas on September 21, 2009 at 4:25pm
I too recently lost a friend. He was found dead in his studio from heart failure at age 37. Nick Rostagno was a potter who made beautiful crystalline, raku and high fire red ceramics. He worked hard, but always found time to have some fun. He had lots of friends and will be missed.
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Posted by J Arthur on September 21, 2009 at 1:31pm
Had my first ever art show this weekend. The weather was clear and cool. The show ran from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. The crowds were steady except from 1:00 to 2:30, foot traffic was a bit thin. My sales came early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Being that this was my first show I don't know if it was a good one or not. Sold 7 pieces of scanagraphic art for just under $1000.00. Did not hear anyone say they did not like the art. Did hear some comment that the prices were too low, but they did not purchase anything. Now that I have my feet wet, I think we will do more of these shows.
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Posted by Sheldon Park on September 20, 2009 at 9:49pm
On September 26 & 27*Clinton Township Festival of the Senses Saturday 10 to 7; Sunday 10 to 5 200 ExhibitorsLive entertainment, taste tent and children's activitiesSeptember 26 & 27* Birmingham Art in the Park Shain Park, downtown Birmingham220 Artists Saturday - 10 am to 6 pm; Sunday - 10 am to 5 pmShain Park plays host to the original Detroit area art fair to benefit Common Ground Sanctuary. This is a lovely park with excellent artists. If you haven't had your fill of art fairs for this season you must attend this event which has a strong reputation among artists as the place to be on this weekend. Good food, kids activities and music will round out your visit.September 26 & 27*Lowell Fallasburg Fall Festival Historic Fallasburg Park Saturday & Sunday 10 am to 5 pm 80 Artists The Fallasburg Fall Festival is a unique event that develops the potential of its' extraordinary historical setting. It is held in a beautiful park with an old schoolhouse, a covered bridge and takes advantage of this lovely setting to present a small art fair that just suits the setting and its' community.If you want to spend a fall day outdoors, shopping for art, eating homemade food from local churches, watching artisans create craft objects...I'm telling you this is the perfect place. There is art for the sophisticated as well as the craft admirer. Pick up a fine etching or a dried flower wreath for your front door.For more details, kindly visit this site.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 20, 2009 at 7:48pm
The affluent Naples area is a much desired place for organizers to present art fairs. Times change and things change.
Here is the announcement from
Howard Alan Events about his popular downtown Naples fair: After 21 years on 5th Avenue South the March Downtown Naples show is officially moving the award Art Fair Calendar.comwinning show to Pelican Bay on Tamiami Trail (US 41). Pelican Bay: - To the South - Downtown Naples - To the North - Bonita Springs Alongside of us - The Waterside Shops, home to Saks Fifth Avenue, Gucci, Tiffany's, etc. This great area is surrounded by high end retail, million dollar mansions, and has great road frontage on SW Florida's most highly traveled road, US 41. Our marketing plan will target Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, Marco Island, and Fort Myers. We will be attracting art buyers from all over SW Florida. This event is also being sponsored by the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. We look forward to the continued success of this top rated event. Visit:
zapplication.org to apply, or visit
www.ArtFestival.com for more information.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 20, 2009 at 7:30pm
Howard Alan Events presents a new festival in affluent West Palm Beach. The message from Howard:
We are excited about the potential for this new event. We are closing down the major streets that encompass City Place, located in downtown West Palm Beach, a beautiful downtown shopping district. This retail empire, which is rich in European architecture, includes 21 fine restaurants, a 20 screen theatre, a cultural city theatre, scores of high end shops, and private high end residences. Combine beautiful architecture, breathtaking fountains, and quaint sidewalk cafes and we have the next great venue in fine art affairs. With an average household income in the six figures this wealthy area of art buyers is well prepared for this fine art fair. Downtown West Palm Beach looks out at the highly affluent island of Palm Beach. We will be putting out a diverse and extensive media plan to make sure City Place will be jammed with art savvy patrons for this can't miss event. To apply visit:
www.zapplication.org or for more information visit:
www.artfestival.comRead more…
Posted by Sheldon Park on September 18, 2009 at 4:00am
I am planning to go to the most historical churches in the world which is Oude Kerk in Amsterdam, this chistmas season. The oldest parish church is consecrated in 1300s. I heard that there are 2500 graves and 10,000 citizens of Amsterdam buried including some of the famous regents. that's creeepy!!! Well, I think it will be a good topic for our research paper next year. I am so excited to study this matter. But before thinking about academics; of course, I will enjoy first my vacation in Netherlands on December. I am more excited about this part!!! I will visit some of the famous landmarks like Van Gogh Museum, Nieuwmarktrellen, De Bijenkorf, Museumplein, and other places there. And also I want to see the famous and the largest legal designated area of prostitution called De Wallen it is also known as Walletjes. Woahhh! At first, I couldn't believe that there's such place like that...but there's really a place like thaaaaaaat! Amazing!.. and I am nervous now! hahaRead more…
Posted by R. C. Fulwiler on September 16, 2009 at 5:30pm
Michael Craven was one of my best friends. A phone call from Michael meant you would be "involved" for a while. His perception of this business was always interesting and often controversial. Our last phone conversation was just after Larry Berman published his interview with him. He had just finished jurying the Longs Park show. Michael had stated that a booth slide should be limited to a sanitized gathering of images with maybe a bin below; no canopy visible. I always thought a booth slide should be taken at a show, as your booth appears, open for business. At the end of our conversation neither of us had changed our minds, but we had a wonderful dialogue. We disagreed about many things but were never disagreeable. The first time I met him was at the Gulf Breeze show sometime in the '90s. I won second place in photography and went looking for first place.... The blue ribbon was on Michael's booth. A few years later, I couldn't find him at a show we had planned to do together. A phone call found him broken down in his RV somewhere on the east coast of Florida. He thought the RV was dead and he was in a jam because all his inventory was in the trailer hitched behind. He needed to get it back home to Charleston, SC. Sunday night, I packed up my booth and drove to meet him. I pulled his trailer home for him and we stayed up all night drinking Jack Daniels and talking "shop". That night, we disagreed on whether an artist should display his whole body of work or just his newest work. I love producing new work, but feel I slight my patrons if I don't show "my greatest hits" as well. Michael thought an artist should be producing great works all the time and should retire older images. He never wanted to be falling back on the tried and true.... And, he could do it! My wife always referred to Michael, affectionately, as a curmudgeon. And he was, in the sense that he didn't suffer fools lightly. I remember being in The Plaza with him one year and during a sale my customer said he had tried to buy a photo from a photographer down the way, but the artist had treated him with such disdain that he had to walk away. Kim chimed in, "Oh, that's just Michael. He's a bit of a curmudgeon!" When Larry asked Michael and me to join his Yahoo group "Artshow_photo" Michael made many enemies and had to quit the group in disgust. Here is an excerpt from one of his postings: "What would be beneficial to those beginning a career in the arts, more than an encouragement to find a place at the trough, is an exaltation to realize themselves as artist. That is find a voice that is uniquely yours, depart from the well worn trails and often trendy subject and/or technique such as the "wall and window" photographers or as I call them the "portals to mediocrity lot" and most importantly be about valid expression and communication which is supposed to be what it is all about to begin with. Communicative art first, decorative art second. As I walk the rows of plastic booths at a show I play a game when passing all the 2-D artist...upon looking in does the art DEMAND that I interact visually and mentally or is it just posing as art (and often for arts sake) very few booths grab these jaded eyes and beckon that I enter." To read more go to the very beginning of the group's postings (January '03). In the Autumn of 2000, while loading out of a show in Gulf Shores, AL. I suffered chest pains and Michael insisted I sit down while he and some fellow artists finished my load-out for me. Within a few months I had to undergo bypass surgery. He may have saved my life. Michael had bad knees and he couldn't get around as well he would've liked; hence the motorized scooters and cycles. He always tried to get to a show early enough to get a parking spot close to his booth. He told me the story of going all the way from Charleston to Memphis to do a show and when he got there they had put his booth where it would've been difficult to set up. When they wouldn't move him he gave them a piece of his mind and drove home. Michael burned a lot of bridges! I'm proud to have displayed his work in my Saugatuck gallery (Nels & Ron too). My personal favorite piece of his was one that showed a bowl of Cheerios; the bowl is cracked; the milk spilled... the title? "Cereal Killer" We have lost a great artist and advocate of excellence. I will miss him.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 16, 2009 at 4:35pm
Lots!!
Give yourself a well-needed break from work. Come to Peoria, IL, on September 24 to attend the NAIA Director/Artist Conference. This is an easy drive for many of you and on the way to the Plaza show in Kansas City.
Why?
* to network with other artists and art fair directors
* to learn what that "booth image" is all about
* get tips for preparing digital images for jurying
* how to battle imports with a U.S. trade representative
* mock jury - see how your images stand up to a jury of your peers. This alone is worth your time. (I sat in on one of these mock juries a few years back. The images projected were from some of the top artists in the
business. They critiqued one another's images and I learned a lot. Took that info home and voila! We snagged us some excellent shows.)
* Party! Peoria Contemporary Art Center
The conference is held in conjunction with the Peoria Fine Art Fair.
Have a desire to talk with other artists and art fair organizers when you are not in your booth? This is such a relaxing and hospitable atmosphere. You will be glad you joined us. I'll be there. I'd love to meet you!
ALL FOR $25.00!! Sign up now! You don't want to miss this! Visit: www.naia-artists.org or call 810-813-0500.
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Posted by Connie Mettler on September 16, 2009 at 4:18pm
One of last year's big art fair stories was about the volunteer at Indianapolis' popular Penrod Arts Fair, sponsored by the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Said volunteer stole $380,000 from the organization's treasury. Now what would this theft done to most art fairs? You've got it -- devastation, anguish, cancellation. But not in Indianapolis!
The show must go on! And on it did go last weekend, bringing thousands of people to enjoy all the arts on the lovely grounds of the Museum of Art. Proceeds from the event go toward non-profit grants to help art organizations in the community. Penrod Art Fair Chairman Bill Leppert said, "We're on great financial ground right now."
Read the rest of this story here: Penrod Thrives Despite Theft
Anyone reading this participate in this year's Penrod event? We'd love some feedback from you.
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Posted by Bert Herrera on September 14, 2009 at 7:45pm
The show takes place in the downtown area of Clayton, which is a suburb of St Louis. It's on the street with artists back to back, down the middle of the street. The show spreads to a couple of streets, including side streets, with 160 lucky artists present. There is about 4-5 feet between the booths, so plenty of space to hang on outside walls if you need/want to. Electricity runs through the rear of all booths, so we can plug in for the evenings. Show hours are Friday 5PM - 10PM, Sat from 10AM - 10PM and Sunday from 11AM to 4PM.While this show has music, entertainment, and community booths, art is clearly the king here. I'm talking about art which is truly of remarkable quality!One word sums up this show for me - BEST. It's the best run show I've ever participated in. The committee doesn't overlook anything -- starting with a very thorough packet they mail to you sometime before the show. They even come by the booth the evening before and give everyone a printed weather forecast for the next day! The crowds were the best I have ever seen in terms of energy, interest, attitude and caring. Oh, yeah, and sales - you guessed it, the best I have ever done. For me, Saturday was a killer day, especially in the evening. I had folks waiting to buy stuff on Sunday 30 minutes after the show officially closed. Some artists, who had done the show in the past, said their sales were down some, but were happy nevertheless.From my perspective, I really cannot say enough good things about this show. I would say to any show co-ordinators out there reading this, if you want to learn how to do it right, come here to learn. These folks have it!I don't have a tequila report, but there are lots of restaurants in the area, and I'm sure some have great tequila! My wife did enjoy the house Merlot at the Sharaton, and their long island iced teas weren't bad either. But after getting back to the hotel (4 blocks away is the Sheraton which is the show hotel), at about 11PM on Friday and Saturday night, all I wanted to do was crash - and hope I can get back in sometime!
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